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FIFA 18: THE WORLD’S GAME FUELLED BY THE WORLD’S BEST… MEDIA KIT?

With the football season well underway, this year’s instalment of EA Sport’s FIFA videogame is about to kick off too. FIFA 18 is the second instalment in the series to use the Frostbite 3 game engine, and introduces Real Player Motion Technology – “the biggest step in gameplay innovation in the franchise’s history” – to make the top players feel and move exactly like they do in reality, whilst Player Personality allows Ronaldo’s signature sprint, Sterling’s unique turns and Griezmann’s technique to be part of the gameplay. This adrenaline fueled football action is in addition to the acclaimed story-based mode ‘The Journey’.

Sony Interactive Entertainment asked us to support the game’s launch, and show why PlayStation 4 is the best way to realise your football skills, with a VIP Collector’s Edition package for media and key influencers. The final product took the form of a deluxe presentation box, containing a range of localised marketing content and merchandise.

The presentation box, in pearlescent Peregrina Majestic Real Gold, arrived in a 3/4 width card slipcase with FIFA related keyart on the top face and PlayStation branding on the sides – featuring 5 colour print and gloss lamination. The gloss finish provided standout against the box – the spine of which featured a subtle gold foil of the PS shapes, with the circle represented as a football for tie-in. The slipcase was removed to reveal a Pantone gold printed PlayStation FC crest pattern on the inner, and previously hidden gold foiled PSFC crest on the box lid and PS4 Pro logo on the box base. The box also featured a magnetic hinged lid, sealed with a holographic foiled sticker – some of which were personalised.

With the sticker removed, the box opened to reveal the inner content – including a striking 5 colour inner lid print, with 1 of the 3 players from the main keyart (Dele Alli, Thomas Müller or Antoine Griezmann) randomly distributed to recipients. In the base of the box sat a bespoke white foam fitment, which held the kit’s content.

Playing on a gold and white colour palette – akin to the dual colours of football shirts – the gold conveyed a premium aesthetic whilst the white referenced the Real Madrid shirt worn by this year’s FIFA cover star, Cristiano Ronaldo. The typography throughout the kit was set in DIN Pro Condensed, as set out by the FIFA 18 style guide – which also gave rise to the use of the 45° angled graphics and content presentation. A mix of gold papers, gold foils and Pantone gold print gave a cohesive highend feel – furthered with vibrant full colour imagery, special print finishes, numbered editioning and personalisation – to provide an engaging unboxing experience for recipients.

The 1st item of content was a 20 page booklet. The booklet cover featured a graphic outline of a football pitch (based on official FIFA dimensions) – printed white on the same gold pearlescent paper as the presentation box. The inner pages were printed on Omnia, a tactile artpaper, and featured bold imagery and localised text about FIFA 18, FIFA Ultimate Team, football related PlayStation initiatives and a PlayStation Plus subscription offer, with unique digitally printed codes.

The next piece of content was an art print, presented to match the size of the booklet, that folded out to B3+ – one side featuring an exclusive gold printed PlayStation FC team photo, whilst the reverse featured a 5 colour print of the FIFA keyart. Underneath the print was a card platform – triplexed for strength, with the top side featuring a subtle gold on gold print of a Ronaldo goal celebration plus gold foiled detailing, digitally printed numbered editioning. The card platform’s removal from the foam fitment, via an angled corner thumbhole, revealed it’s Pantone gold printed football stadium screenshot reverse.

Also revealed was a PlayStation FC football shirt situated in the foam fitment – folded around inner card, with gold printed PlayStation FC crest. The shirts were produced in a range of sizes, and unfolded to reveal an eyecatching PS shapes themed design that would ensure they didn’t go unnoticed on the pitch! In the base of the foam fitment were the final pieces of content: an exclusive gold DualShock 4 controller to aid your FIFA play, and 2 voucher cards – triplexed, gold foiled and digitally printed with unique codes. One card featured a FIFA 18: Ronaldo Edition download code, with the other featuring varying levels of FIFA Ultimate Team points. The removal of this content also revealed black foam underneath the white top layers, to further the premium production values.

A complex fulfilment job involved localised print, personalisations, differing shirt sizes, territory specific download codes and the varying FUT points – across 540 kits and 20+ global territories (including international footballers and F1 drivers) to coincide with the earlier release date of the Ronaldo Edition on the 26th September. The kits resulted in widespread YouTube unboxings and offline/social media coverage. Imagery of the kit and it’s production below, with further imagery to be found on a future Fluid website update.